What Online Retailers in 2020 Need to Know About Marketing with TikTok

When everyone started to #stayhome due to the global COVID-19 crisis, a seeming overnight success emerged on the social media scene: TikTok.

With viral challenges, quick looping videos, and endless dance parties, it feels like everyone and their mother (if not their grandmother!) is now having fun and spending time on TikTok. How can your business make the most of this latest trend?

Even if you’re familiar with digital marketing, TikTok is a unique platform that presents its own challenges and opportunities for online retailers. If you’re looking catch up and leverage this social media phenomenon for your business goals, here are the important fundamentals you need to know about TikTok: 

Origins

TikTok was first released in 2014, evolving from platforms like Vine and Musical.ly – however, it only started expanding out of China in 2017. The goal, according to its creators, was to become the top destination for short videos shot and shared on smartphones.

Even today, the brand identifies its purpose this way: “TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.

In late 2017, Byte Dance (TikTok’s parent company) bought Musical.ly for nearly $1 billion and started expanding into the U.S. and other international markets. Many influencers on Vine with large followings started moving to TikTok, and by late 2019, TikTok reached a milestone of 1.5 billion worldwide downloads. TikTok is now the sixth largest social media network with more than 800 million monthly active users.

Even though it was only released globally just a few years ago, TikTok already ranks as one of the most downloaded apps ever, with availability now in over 150 countries and 75 languages. What’s more, ByteDance is now valued as the world’s most valuable startup at nearly $78 billion.

TikTokCapitalizing on Viral Trends

In order to capitalize on the growing popularity of TikTok, it’s important for your business to understand how the platform works: Tik Tok makes use of advanced AI and machine learning to track “likes” and the duration of videos watched. With this information, the platform assists creators by suggesting filters, hashtags, and music that are most popular for a category, making it easier than ever to edit videos and go viral.

TikTok delivers users a feed that’s demonstrated to be particularly addictive. Similar to the draw of a slot machine, TikTok keeps it users scrolling by using a strategy that psychologists call “random reinforcement,” or the delivery of rewards at irregular intervals – stats show users now spend an average of 50 minutes each day on the app!

Interestingly, in spite of the large user base, only 4% of US digital marketers are using TikTok. So, if you start using the platform today, you will be an early adopter, joining active brands such as Calvin Klein, Sony, Apple Music, and Chipotle that have created successful brand-related challenges and partnerships with influencers.

Some of the ways that advertisers can use TikTok include branded hashtag challenges, in-feed video ads, branded songs, and influencer partnerships. For example, Maybelline recently created and in-feed ad campaign that achieved 48.7K likes and 3K comments in just one day.

Is Your Audience on TikTok?

The short answer: probably yes.

Even though TikTok rose to fame with a younger crowd (41% of users are ages 16 -24), since the pandemic, the number of older US adult users has risen to almost 15 million. Similar to the growth of Facebook and Instagram, as TikTok has become more popular, the demographics of its audience continue to expand.

JXT GroupIf you’re interested to explore how your business might add a TikTok campaign to your digital marketing strategy, our team here at JXT Group will be happy to help. You can reach us at 718-690-7302, or fill out our online contact form.

Ian Bowne ()

Ian Bowne is a marketing ninja who grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Sacred Heart University. In his spare time, he enjoys playing ice hockey, surfing, and going for long walks on the beach.